Essay on Internet Privacy

The concern about privacy on the Internet is increasingly becoming an issue of international dispute. ?Citizens are becoming concerned that the most intimate details of their daily lives are being monitored, searched and recorded.? (www.britannica.com) 81% of Net users are concerned about threats to their privacy while online. The greatest threat to privacy comes from the construction of e-commerce alone, and not from state agents. E-commerce is structured on the copy and trade of intimate personal information and therefore, a threat to privacy on the Internet.
The Internet?s leading advertising company, DoubleClick, Inc. compiled thorough information on the browsing routine of millions of users. They accomplished this by implementing ?cookie? files onto computer hard drives. These cookies enable Web sites and advertising networks to observe people?s on-line activities with great precision.
Cookies also include the search vocabulary entered as well as the articles one reads over, and the amount of time one spends looking at a particular article. Convinced that their actual identities were not being made public, consumers were pleased to accept this in exchange for the ease of navigating the web more efficiently. ?In November 1999 DoubleClick bought Abacus Direct, which held a database of names, addresses, and information about the offline buying habits of 90 million households compiled from the largest direct-mail catalogs and retailers in the nation.? (www.britannica.com)

Following the purchase of Abacus two months later, DoubleClick began compiling profiles that linked an individual?s actual name and address to Abacus?s complete records of their on-line and off-line purchases. This turned shopping that was once thought to be anonymous, into personally identifiable records.
The American Management Association conducted a survey of nearly a thousand large companies and found that more than half the large American firms surveyed monitored the Internet relations of their workers. Several of these companies used Orwellian computer software that was initially offered for only $99 and had the ability to screen and record every keystroke on the computer with video like precision. It is also possible for the firms to screen all incoming and outgoing e-mail for forbidden words and phrases- such as those involving racism, or the name of a bos...

... middle of paper ...

...eu=369441>.

?Privacy Initiatives.? Federal Trade Commission. 4 March 2001

<http://www.ftc.gov/privacy/index.html>.

?Rules of the Road for the Information Superhighway.? Privacy In Cyberspace. 1999

Click the button above to view the complete essay, speech, term paper, or research paper

Online Privacy and the Internet Essay
- More people can reach one another today than in years past because of social networking sites. The world has become a lot smaller because of sites like Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, and many others. There are certainly many advantages to using these resourceful social networks, such as keeping up with friends and family, sharing photos, and staying up to date with current events. Nonetheless, there is a growing concern about privacy, or the lack thereof, because of these sites. The ability to determine your privacy settings is at times confusing, and at other times, simply misleading.... [tags: Social Network Sites, Privacy, Internet]:: 3 Works Cited

The Privacy Invasion of Consumers Through the Internet and Bluetooth Devices
- The Privacy Invasion of Consumers Through the Internet and Bluetooth Devices ABSTRACT Faster, easier, and cheaper access to a plethora of information, products and people is a primary stimulus for the growing number of online consumers who use the Internet to fulfill information foraging, communication and commerce needs. Oddly enough, these conveniences appear to override users concerns of privacy invasion. As the mechanisms behind information technologies become increasingly transparent, users must trust the companies producing the products to protect them from privacy invasion and refrain from deceitful consumer information practices.... [tags: Internet Privacy Web Cyberspace Essays]:: 15 Works Cited

Privacy on the Internet Essay
- Privacy is mentioned in the Bill of Rights, but in which amendment does privacy on the Internet fall. In the website “The Right of Privacy” it says that “The U.S. Constitution contains no express right to privacy” (n. pag.). Freedom of religion is given to us in the First Amendment. The Fourth Amendment protects you from searches and seizures unless the officials possess a warrant. The Fifth Amendment gives us the right to interpret the first eight amendments in ways that can protect the people.... [tags: Internet]:: 5 Works Cited

The Right to Internet Privacy Essay
- The world today is an internet age where there is life in and outside of the web. Outside of the internet people enjoy everything America has to offer, entertainment and job wise. Within people use the internet and social networks to contact friends and coworkers. The internet has become a tool for numerous things; so much it is unknown what people would truly do without it. The invention is so powerful and convenient, it is inevitably becoming corrupt. When the government and corporations see it as a useful spying and marketing tool, the internet is no longer such a good place to be.... [tags: Internet Age, Social Networks, Government]:: 4 Works Cited

Essay on Threat to Internet Privacy
- Threat to Internet Privacy Abstract At what level is Internet surveillance by the United States government acceptable to society, considering a balance between security and privacy, what are the short and long term implications, and how does it affect the rest of the world. Introduction Privacy from governments has been under assault increasing amounts in the last 100 years. Technology has revolutionized the concept, as before we had microphones, telephones, wiretaps, video cameras, someone would actually need to trespass to violate your privacy.... [tags: Technology Technological Privacy Essays]:: 5 Works Cited

Cookies and Internet Privacy Essay
- Cookies and Internet Privacy What is a Cookie. “Netscape's Client Side State definition:Cookies are a general mechanism which server side connections (such as CGI scripts) can use to both store and retrieve information on the client side of the connection. The addition of a simple, persistent, client-side state significantly extends the capabilities of Web-based client/server applications.”Kington, Andy, Andy’s HTTP Cookie Notes, Available from http://www.illuminatus.com/cookie_pages/ [modified 6 June 1997, cited 14 March, 1999] In English, this means that webservers can create web pages that will customize from user to user.... [tags: Internet Private Cookies Essays]

Essay on Internet Privacy
- Internet Privacy It has become a sad and upsetting fact that in today’s society the truth is that the right to one’s privacy in the I.T (information technological) world has become, simply a joke. In an electronic media article “No place to hide”, written by James Norman, two interesting and debatable questions were raised: ‘Are we witnessing the erosion of the demarcation of public and private spaces brought on by the networked economy and new technology?’ Also, ‘What roles do government, industry and citizens have in regard to censorship and privacy?’ These statements ultimately end with the fact that it is impossible for Net users to expect privacy online, because online privacy doesn’t... [tags: Internet Web Private Cyberspace Essays]:: 4 Works Cited

Essay on Internet Privacy
- Internet Privacy The concern about privacy on the Internet is increasingly becoming an issue of international dispute. ?Citizens are becoming concerned that the most intimate details of their daily lives are being monitored, searched and recorded.. (www.britannica.com) 81% of Net users are concerned about threats to their privacy while online. The greatest threat to privacy comes from the construction of e-commerce alone, and not from state agents. E-commerce is structured on the copy and trade of intimate personal information and therefore, a threat to privacy on the Internet.... [tags: essays research papers fc]:: 5 Works Cited

Essay on Internet Privacy
- Why should I worry about privacy and security. I'm not a criminal or a terrorist. I've got nothing to hide. These are things that most people think. They also believe the internet is much more secure and that their personal information is only available to them, whereas this is actually quite wrong. There are more reasons to want to protect your privacy than can be named. The important principal is that you have a right to privacy as long as that right is used within the bounds of the law. Seeking privacy should not make you feel guilty.... [tags: Security essays research papers]